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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29690001">The Symphosium</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/sageofsimping/pseuds/sageofsimping'>sageofsimping</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - College/University, College, Computer Programming, Dorms, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Gay Panic, Idiots in Love, Internal Conflict, Internalized Homophobia, Literary References &amp; Allusions, Literature, Love Confessions, Love at First Sight, M/M, Philosophy, dream is an english major, everyone uses their real names except for technoblade, george is a comp sci major, i'm a nerd so this was fun, title from classic literature, written in under 24 hours, yes beta but we still die like artists after dream described his hair as wavy length</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 02:07:51</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>8,602</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29690001</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/sageofsimping/pseuds/sageofsimping</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“What?” George asks, pulling his headphones out to give his full attention to the stranger.</p><p>“Wanna hear me crack this open?” Dream asks, grabbing the drink to hold out a bit towards the other man. George laughs, his smile growing as he props his elbows up on the table. Something about the way Dream spoke, the grin he always had, his sense of childlike wonder, it all just drew George in. Like he wanted to learn everything about him; what he likes, what he doesn’t like, where he’s from, if he’s single or taken.<br/>______<br/>George is a struggling college student who spends most of his time locked away in his dorm room. One day he decides to venture outside and by fate or sheer coincidence, he meets a stranger who changes his life. </p><p>He just can't decide if it's for the better or not.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Clay | Dream &amp; Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), GeorgeNotFound &amp; Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>152</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>MCYT</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Symphosium</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>i went outside for the first time in months and the sun fueled me to write some cute college au dnf so enjoy &lt;3</p><p>as always, dream and george have expressed they are okay with this stuff but if they ever change their minds, I will be deleting this no questions asked :D</p><p> </p><p>*EDIT AS OF 4/22/21* </p><p>I have gone through and changed my use of irl names. These are/always have been loose characterizations of the people portrayed, however, I made the decision to go through and edit to fix the usages of names. I have no clue if Dream has expressed disdain for his name being used but just to be sure, I'm changing it to simply be 'Dream' to prevent any confusion/issues down the road.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sun filtered through the towering trees, the leaves shading just enough of the computer screen for George’s squinting eyes to make out the words in front of him. The laptop reflected pages of code back towards the student, muttered curses leaving his lips as he scours for the mistake that hid itself deep in the mass of lines.</p><p>He had left his dorm early that morning, hoping that the fresh air- or as fresh as a crowded university campus could get- would be able to help him focus enough to complete this assignment. It was his mid-term, a large portion of his grade, and he couldn’t seem to get the code to work properly.</p><p>The cold concrete bench he sat on stole his warmth, leaving him a shivering mess even under the blazing sun. George cursed himself for not bringing a jacket but seeing as how it was a warm 70 degrees out, he didn’t feel the need to. But with the sun tucked behind the trees, the warmth didn’t really reach him.</p><p>George’s headphones play the sounds of cheery violins and piano, the orchestral hums that helped his eyes focus on the typed commands in front of him. His hand reaches for the coffee cup next to his computer, only to find that it has been long gone.</p><p>He loved the peace, an area of the crowded campus that he could be secluded and feel safe. He breathed in the air, feeling it linger in chest before he blew it out. A nice vacation away from his stuffy, smelly dorm room where his roommate, Sapnap, left his dirty clothes all over George’s neat and tidy side of the room.</p><p>George leaned in more, trying to get a better look at the small print, scanning every line character by character to make sure that there were no spelling errors or simple mistakes. Hopefully, it would be a quick fix, or else he would probably have to scrap the whole thing and start over.</p><p>“You forgot the semi-colon.” He heard behind him, the sudden noise making George jolt so much he slammed his hand against the hard table. He curses, turning around to face the slightly bent over man who is, along with George, staring at the pages of code.</p><p>George tugs his headphones out of his ears, the music loud enough for them both to hear as the symphony reaches its climax. He flushes, reaching over to turn the volume of his computer down, using it as an excuse to shift away from the new figure. He looked back to his code, following the guiding finger towards the end of the line of code where it was indeed missing a semicolon. His mouth falls open slightly as he types in the last character.</p><p>“Thank you,” he offers, smiling shyly at the man, watching as he took a seat on the opposite side of the table.</p><p>“No problem, I just thought I got here early enough to snag this table, but I guess I didn’t.” The man grinned, the tone of his voice light enough for George to find no worry in his being there. He watches as the other props his backpack up on the bench next to him, grabbing a laptop to put it out on the table in front of him. When the man catches him staring, he gives a small smile, flipping the laptop open to join George in work.</p><p>“I’m Dream,” the other offered, typing a few things into his computer before turning it around to show the impressive display of code typed in, one that mimicked George’s screen in size.</p><p>He smiles, leaning in to glance over the lines of commands with an impressed hum, glancing back at Dream with a smile.</p><p>“I’m George.” he stated, grabbing the wires of his headphones, ready to put them back in, to go back to enjoying his symphonies and finish the assignment once and for all.</p><p>“I’m assuming you’re a student here as well,” Dream said, turning the computer back, returning to his work as well.</p><p>George nodded slightly as he put his headphones in, hesitating before leaving one of the ear buds out. The one closer to the other student.</p><p>“Probably a comp sci major, yeah?”</p><p>He smiled, nodding in response. For some reason, George just felt that he wasn’t going to get a ton of work done while Dream was there. Not that he necessarily minded.</p><p>Dream hums and George watches as he digs through his backpack again, this time retrieving a can of Red Bull with a grin. George rolls his eyes, smiling slightly at him as he looks towards him expectantly.</p><p>“What?” George asks, pulling his headphones out to give his full attention to the stranger.</p><p>“Wanna hear me crack this open?” Dream asks, grabbing the drink to hold out a bit towards the other man. George laughs, his smile growing as he props his elbows up on the table. Something about the way Dream spoke, the grin he always had, his sense of childlike wonder, it all just drew George in. Like he wanted to learn everything about him; what he likes, what he doesn’t like, where he’s from, if he’s single or taken.</p><p>George tenses a bit at his own thoughts, his lip quickly dipping down into a frown as he forces himself out of his head. He leans forward, locking eyes with the man across from him again as he waits patiently for him to open the drink.</p><p>Dream pressed his finger into the tab on the top of the can, careful to snap it open as quickly as he can. A loud pop, followed by a long hiss, filled the air and Dream’s laugh accompanied it.</p><p>“Doesn’t it sound cool?” he exclaimed, the smile on his face contagious as George joined in with his own quiet laughter.</p><p>“It does,” he admitted, “I don’t know how you can make that so loud.”</p><p>Drean chuckled as he took a sip of the drink, setting it back down to begin his explanation. George listened carefully to every word, propping his head up on his hand to stare at the man across from him.</p><p>The pair talked, both ignoring the lines of code that waited for them on their screens. George learned that Dream was also a student there, but he was an English major who just happened to love coding, he learned that he had been coming to this specific table for months to read and do assignments, but that today was the first time the spot was stolen from him. Somewhere along the line, George found out that Dream was, in fact, single, and he pressed down the bubbling emotions inside his stomach and ignored the blush that spread across his face when he learned that fact.</p><p>George told Dream about how he came to America to study computer science, but mostly because his longtime best friend, Sapnap, had begged for them to go to the same school. He told him all about how he prefers to keep his room organized and clean, while Sap likes to take a laid back approach to cleaning which mostly just meant pushing the mess under his bed. He told Dream about his family back home, his parents who missed him greatly, and Dream responded with an invitation to his family home to meet his mother and siblings for a home cooked meal.</p><p>Again, he ignored the way his heart sped up and his face flushed.</p><p>It wasn’t until the sun was beginning to hide behind the towering buildings around them that the two began their goodbyes.</p><p>“I’ve got to go back to my dorm soon, my roommate is going to kill me if I try to skip out of cleaning the bathroom again and he’s probably going to be waking up soon.” Dream explained as he tucked his laptop back in his backpack.</p><p>George laughs, “Waking up? It’s almost six in the afternoon.”</p><p>“Yeah, he’s a strange one,” Dream laughs along, smiling to the other man as he stands up. “Anyway,” he breathed out, like he was thinking of saying something, but he hesitated. George perked up slightly.</p><p>“Do you want my number? Or something like that.” Dream stammered, his hand digging awkwardly in his back pocket for his phone, pulling it out to gesture towards George who flushed in response. Surely, it was just so they could continue their conversation later, maybe even become friends, but George’s stomach still lurched as he nodded silently.</p><p>George grabbed his phone, despite what his brain was telling him, and typed in the numbers as Dream read them out to him. He stared at his phone, at the blank contact name, hesitating before writing <em> Dream </em>and adding a smiley face next to it. He tapped save before he could second guess himself, smiling up towards him as he tucked his phone away as well.</p><p>“I’ll text you later,” Dream promises, giving a little wave before he disappears behind George’s back towards the path into campus.</p><p>George curses himself, burying his face in his hands as his mind begins to wander again. He found himself recalling everything about how Dream spoke, the way he tended to gesture wildly with his hands while he retold exciting stories, or how his brows furrowed together when he was stuck trying to remember a small detail to tell George, or the way his eyes expressed so many emotions that drew George deeper into the hole he was finding himself in.</p><p>It was a hole he had been in before and managed to escape, but something settled deep in his stomach that told him that he wouldn’t be able to get out of it as easily this time around.</p><p>Hesitantly, George forced himself home as the sun disappeared over the horizon and the trees around him chirped with the sounds of crickets. He dragged his feet through campus until he made it back to his dorm, where he was immediately greeted with a less than pleased roommate.</p><p>“George!” Sapnap called out, “Where the hell have you been?”</p><p>George flinched a bit, startled by the sudden noise as he closed the door behind him. He dropped his backpack by his desk and silently planted himself in his bed. He let out a loud sigh in his pillow, turning to face Sap with a vague answer.</p><p>“Out.”</p><p>His roommate glared at him, sitting up in his bed with worry. “More details, dickhead.”</p><p>“I wanted to do some schoolwork without your stinky socks distracting me, so I sat outside for a bit.” George explained, “Do you know what that is? Outside?” he teased, laughing at the middle finger that was thrown his way.</p><p>“Did you get any work done?” Sapnap asks and George freezes, his head suddenly filled with the sound of Dream’s voice, his laughter, his smile. He cringes as his hands twitch at his side, picking absently at the blanket on his bed.</p><p>“Yes,” he lies, avoiding looking towards Nick. He knew that Nick knew that was a lie. The two had known each other for close to ten years now, they knew the tones of each other’s voices extremely well. It was only a question of whether Nick was going to pick up on why it was a lie.</p><p>“Really?” Dream hummed, watching George carefully. “I’m glad you got some work done. Did this ‘work’ have a name?”</p><p>George choked, his eyes widening as he stared over at his friend, watching as he laughed at his reaction. He felt his face flush as he sunk back into his bed more, trying to hide from the question. His mouth is opening to refute the claims when his phone, which he had placed on the table in between him and Nick, chimed. George’s eyes flew to the phone, his hands itching to pick it up, to check to see if it was Dream texting him, like he had promised when they parted ways, but Sapnap was already reaching for it.</p><p>“Sapnap, stop!” he exclaimed, leaning forward to try to snatch the phone from his hands before Sap could turn it over and read the name that appeared on the message.</p><p>“Dream?” he read, glancing up at George slightly. George felt like the world around him was shattering, piercing into his heart as he stared at his roommate. There was nothing there, just a friend, named Dream, who messaged him. Nothing to look into, nothing to see. But his stomach sunk, and his eyes filled with tears at the thought that Sapnap could read into it, he could bury George in the hole he found himself trapped in.</p><p>“He said <em> hey </em>” he read out, “Why are you so defensive?”</p><p>“I’m not,” George stammered, “I just don’t want you to snoop through my stuff.”</p><p>Sapnap raises a brow in response but just hands the phone back to George. He knew better than to question his friend at this point, especially when it came to this.</p><p>“So, who is Dream?”</p><p>George huffs as he grabs his phone, opening the message Dream sent, a small smile gracing his lips. “Just a friend. I met him earlier.”</p><p>“I see,” Sapnap hums, leaning back against the wall, crossing his legs similarly to how George was sitting. “Do I get to meet him?”</p><p>“Not any time soon, I don’t want you chasing him away with your stench.” George jabbed playfully, turning his attention back to the message. He read over the simple word a few times, his heart pounding as he typed back, <em> hi </em>.</p><p>Sap laughed, tossing a stray sock towards George. He yelps as he dodges it, glaring at his friend.</p><p>“You are disgusting.” George says, nudging the sock off of his bed.</p><p>“<em> You are disgusting. </em>” Sapnap mocks his accent, laughing as George glares at him. His phone goes off again next to him, drawing both of their eyes towards it. George can’t help but feel like Nick’s gaze is a judging one, a feeling he has felt many times before. Every time he finds himself stuck in this feeling, one that eats him alive and keeps him awake at night. One that tells him he’s wrong.</p><p>“Are you going to answer him?” Nick says, his words hesitant and knowing. George cringed, his heart pounding as he grabbed his phone.</p><p>
  <em> ‘my roommate woke up before I got home so im in trouble’ </em>
</p><p>George couldn’t fight the smile that crept onto his face, a soft laugh leaving his mouth. He glanced up towards his friend and let out a sigh. They both knew.</p><p> </p><hr/><p>The next day greeted George like a ton of bricks, his eyes snapping open to the sound of his alarm. He groaned, covering his face with his hands as he begged for the chiming to stop so he could go back to sleep. He spent the night awake, sending message after message to Dream, allowing himself to indulge in a few stupid conversations without the feeling of dread filling his head.</p><p>“Dude,” Sapnap groaned, “Turn off your fucking alarm or I’ll throw your phone into the toilet and flush it.”</p><p>George sat up, grabbing his phone angrily to tap the alarm off while glaring at his roommate. “I hate you,”</p><p>“I wasn’t the one who was up all night texting his fucking boyfriend.” Sap snapped, his eyes shooting open to look at George as he realized what he said. The room fell silent as George’s face dropped into a frown. His stomach churned as he sat back in his bed, pulling his knees to his chest.</p><p>Sapnap sat up, “I didn’t mean- “</p><p>“It’s fine.” George lies, grabbing his phone again using it as something to stare instead of Sapnap.</p><p>“No, it isn’t. You know I don’t think that- “he cuts himself off, gesturing into the air in search for the right words.</p><p>“I’m not gay.” George finishes his sentence, the words catching in his throat almost as a sob. Sap furrowed his brows, sitting up in his bed to look over at George.</p><p>“I know you aren’t. It was just a joke,” he said sincerely, “But, you know, if you were…”</p><p>“I’m not.”</p><p>“I was just saying that if you were, I wouldn’t care. I love you, dude. It doesn’t matter who you want to date.” Sapnap explained, laying back down in his bed. George sighed, turning his phone on, the light hurting his eyes slightly as he scrolled through his notifications from the night before. He hums softly, swiping away random notifications from different apps before his eyes settled on one message Dream had sent after he went to sleep.</p><p>
  <em> ‘do you want to meet me at my dorm tomorrow? I could help you finish that midterm’ </em>
</p><p>His stomach sank again, his tongue drying up as he tapped on it to open the message. It stared back at him, a timestamp that read from only a few hours ago. Likely, Dream wasn’t even awake anymore, so there was really no point in him messaging him back yet.</p><p>But still, he found himself tapping out a quick message before he threw his phone onto the pillow next to him. Maybe if he ignored it, continued on with his morning, he would forget the fact that he sent back <em> sure </em> and that his face flushed as he did so.</p><p>George got up, quietly moving to his closet to grab an outfit for the day. He hums, scouring the hangers til his eyes fell on a simple red hoodie. That would have to work for today. He snatched his phone from his bed, taking in a deep breath as he stared at it for a moment.</p><p>He shuffled into the bathroom, taking a moment to stare at himself in the mirror as he yawned. The dark circles that settled under his eyes had worsened and his hair was a mess, but he felt somewhat okay. Other than the aching pain that he’s felt in the pit of his stomach since him and Dream met.</p><p>As he turned the water on in the shower, he heard his phone chime again, a sigh leaving his mouth. George tugged his tee-shirt off as he grabbed his phone, his eyes widening as he saw Dream’s name appear at the top.</p><p>‘<em> couldn’t sleep either lol’ </em></p><p>George smiled slightly, tapping his finger against the side of his phone. His mind filled with pictures of Dream tossing and turning in bed, his blonde hair all messy and spread out against his pillow, little snores leaving his mouth. He pictured how stupid it would look if Dream’s feet extending past his blanket, since he was so tall, and what it would be like to have his strong arms wrapped around his own waist, tugging him closer as they fell asleep.</p><p>His smile fell. Why would he be thinking about that? He pushed the forbidden thoughts from his head as he glanced back at his phone. The screen lit up, making him realize that while he was off in his own head, he had accidently hit the <em> call </em> button on the top of his screen.</p><p>“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” George muttered to himself, pulling the phone up to his ear, checking to see if Dream had already picked up or if there was still time to end the call.</p><p>His heart sank as he heard a quiet, “Hello?” from the other end.</p><p>“Hi,” George said sheepishly, “I didn’t mean to do that,” he laughs, mentally face-palming about how stupid he sounded.</p><p>“Oh, it’s okay.” Dream responded, laughing along with him. “How are you?”</p><p>So he wasn’t just getting out of this.</p><p>George sighed slightly, leaning against the bathroom wall, “Fine. Just woke up.”</p><p>“That explains why you sound so different,” Dream chuckled, stoking the fire in George’s stomach.</p><p>“Different? How so?” George hums, biting back a smile.</p><p>“Like deeper. More… Sultry,” he jokes, a laugh echoing through the phone. George flushes red, his breath caught in his throat as he stares at himself in the mirror. Is this seriously what he was doing on a Wednesday morning?</p><p>“George? You still there?” Dream asks, his words dragging George back to the call.</p><p>“Oh, uh, yeah I am. Sorry,” he mumbled, “I’m actually about to get in the shower, could I just text you back when I get out?”</p><p>“Yeah, of course. And we can set up a time for you to come over. My roommate sleeps through everything so we’ll be fine.”</p><p>George catches himself before he makes the joke, the word ‘<em> everything?’ </em> sitting on the tip of his tongue as he laughs and says his goodbyes. Once the call is over, and the phone is sitting far away from him on the counter, George huffs, burying his face in his hands.</p><p>He was truly fucked.</p><p> </p><hr/><p>After a quick shower, George tugs on the hoodie and a pair of jeans, slipping back into his bed to text Dream back.</p><p>‘<em> hey sorry just got out of the shower’ </em> he sent, chewing nervously on his lip. Since they last spoke, George spent a lot of time thinking about Dream, remembering every little thing about him. His amber eyes, which Dream informed him were actually green. The way they shimmered in the sunlight and the way they conveyed every emotion so clearly. His smile, his contagious wheezing laugh, his long fingers and the way they cracked open Red Bull after Red Bull.</p><p>He hated it. He hated the way this man consumed his every thought, his every breath. The way that Dream came into his life and immediately took it over.</p><p>He hated the way that Dream made him question himself.</p><p>‘<em> that’s okay I was just reading’ </em></p><p>George was immediately dragged back to the phone, to Dream, despite everything his body was telling him.</p><p>‘<em> what were you reading?’ </em></p><p>
  <em> ‘plato’ </em>
</p><p>He rolled his eyes in response, slightly laughing as he grinned at his phone. Of course he was.</p><p>‘<em> you party animal’ </em></p><p>
  <em> ‘don’t judge til you read it’ </em>
</p><p><em> ‘send me a bit then’ </em>George responded, his heart pounding as he waited for Dream’s response. He teased, but he knew that his friend enjoyed reading the classics, especially from philosophers. And it was kind of endearing, that he enjoyed things like Plato at eight in the morning.</p><p>A few minutes passed before another message came through, causing the smile to grow on George’s face.</p><p>‘<em> according to Greek mythology, humans were originally created with 4 arms, 4 legs, and a head with 2 faces. Fearing their power, Zeus split them into two separate parts, condemning them to spend their lives in search of their other halves.’ </em></p><p>George stared at the message, his heart pounding in his chest as he watched Dream’s bubble appear at the bottom, signifying he was typing again. His head felt light as he watched the next message pop up.</p><p>‘<em> I like that quote. It means a lot’ </em></p><p><em> ‘it’s very poetic’ </em> he responds, the words he wants to say stuck in his head.</p><p>‘<em> do you believe in that’ </em> Dream writes, immediately followed by <em> ‘in soulmates?’ </em></p><p>His mouth dried up, his eyes lingering on the word ‘soulmates’ as he froze. The words on the screen felt forbidden, like they toed the line between friendly and…</p><p>And what George really wanted them to mean.</p><p>He knew the hole had become too deep for him to dig out of, he was officially trapped. But as he remembered Sapnap’s earlier words, he felt safe in admitting it.</p><p>George took a deep breath before turning back to his phone, typing out a quick.</p><p>
  <em> ‘yeah I do’ </em>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p>They made the decision to meet up after George’s first class was done, since his class was on the other side of campus, near Dream’s dorm. As George sat through class, the fifty minutes ticking by excruciatingly slow, he stared at his phone rather than the Professor’s notes. He sent message after message to Dream, mostly about how annoyingly long this class period felt, always getting a giggle out of his response.</p><p>When the Professor finally excused them, George practically sprinted out of the door, his hands nervously tugging at his hoodie while he walked the short distance to Dream’s dorm. What was he going to say to him? How was he going to explain that, while they had only met the day before, he was falling for him? The weight of their previous conversation still crushed George’s chest, making him feel like maybe his feelings weren’t one sided.</p><p>A man could hope, right?</p><p>He pulled his phone out as he wandered through the hall to make sure he had Dream’s room number correct before raising his fist to knock on the door. He hesitated, fear filling his body. What if Dream didn’t take it well? What if he lost him? George stepped back, furrowing his brows at his own thoughts.</p><p>He ignored them, must like how he used to ignore his more sinful ones.</p><p>George knocked on the door, pocketing his phone as he waited for Dream to appear and ease all his fears. Instead, a different man, probably Dream’s roommate, opened the door. His eyes glared at George, obviously full of sleep and annoyance.</p><p>“What?” he mumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. George opened his mouth to answer, but Dream spoke first.</p><p>“That’s George! Let him in, I’ll be out in a second.”</p><p>The man stepped to the side, letting George scurry in quickly. He looked around as he stepped inside, humming as he quickly distinguished which side of the room was Dream’s. His side was a bit messier than the other side, but in a chaotically organized way. He was sure that Dream knew where everything was. The wall next to his unmade bed was lined with books, most of them obviously old classics. George smiles as he reaches out to pluck one of the books from the shelf, <em> The Odyssey, </em> the cover read.</p><p>As he heard Dream’s roommate settled back in his own bed, the bathroom door opened, making George turn to face the sound. He froze, his eyes stuck on Dream as he watched him walk out of the bathroom. Unlike yesterday, when Dream wore a large baggy sweatshirt, he wore a slightly tight white tee-shirt, the collar low enough to show off Dream’s prominent collarbones. George flushed, opening his mouth to greet him but no words came out.</p><p>“You’re acting like he just walked out naked, get a grip kid.” Dream’s roommate said, his nose buried in a book of his own. George’s eyes went wide as he forced them away from Dream, a sheepish smile growing on his lips.</p><p>“Techno!” Dream laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. He gave George a small smile as an apology, which he took gratefully.</p><p>“Anyway, hi.” George laughs, shrugging his backpack off of his shoulder to set it on the ground next to him.</p><p>“Hey,” Dream mimicked, glancing over at Techno slightly. “That’s my roommate. We all just call him Techno.”</p><p>“Techno,” George hums, “Nice to meet you.”</p><p>The man looked up from his book just long enough to nod at George in response before returning to his work.</p><p>“I thought he’d be asleep, but I guess his sleep schedule is worse than I thought.” Dream joked, laughing as he took a seat at one end of his bed. George joined him, sitting opposite him nervously, clearing his throat as he looked around.</p><p>“I like your room,” George remarked, smiling at Dream as they made eye contact again.</p><p>Dream laughs, smiling back as he leaned back against the wall a bit, drawing George’s eyes back to his exposed collarbones. “Thanks, it’s pretty messy,” he says, glancing around a bit.</p><p>“You say that like you didn’t spend all morning cleaning up.” Techno chimed in, looking up from his book to shoot Dream a knowing glance. George laughed as he watched Dream’s face turn red and he tried to mutter out excuses.</p><p>George smiles, looking toward Techno, who locks eyes with him for just a moment before disappearing back into his book. “So, that code.” George grabs his bag, pulling his laptop out and bringing up his project before turning it so Dream could see it.</p><p>He moved closer, nearly pressing himself against George’s side so he could read over his shoulder easier and George nearly combusted. He glances over to Dream with a sheepish grin as he scrolls to the bottom of his code.</p><p>George explained the project, going into detail about his decisions to adjust certain lines of the code to fit better. Dream watched him with a smile, glancing over to Techno who just stared at the pair with a knowing grin.</p><p>“Anyway, I’m almost done with it, I think I just need to tweak a few things.” George finished, turning to look up at Dream, his stomach flipping as he made eye contact with him, the burning heat of his amber eyes turning his face red.</p><p>“Alright, well I can help with that.” Dream offered softly.</p><p>Across the room, Techno groaned, snapping his book closed as sitting up, “That’s it, I’m going over to Wilbur’s room, you two are too annoying.” He packed his laptop and a few books into his bag, turning back before he left to say, “Just kiss already, it’s painful to watch.” George choked, leaning away from Dream as he stammered out a quick goodbye to his roommate, both of their faces turning bright red. He couldn’t help but laugh at Techno’s brashness, turning to his friend with his mouth agape.</p><p>“Sorry about him, he’s…”</p><p>“N-No, it’s okay. It was just a joke,” George lied, giving Dream a small smile before clearing his throat. “He’s definitely… Up front,” he laughed.</p><p>Dream joined in, smiling back. “Yeah, he’s… Observant,” he hums, the laughter between the two of them slowing down til the room around them filled with a bittersweet tension. George thinks back to earlier; when he let his mind wander, completely captivated by every word and action from Dream the day before. To when he wished he could be held by Dream, cradled against his chest as the pair peacefully slept. To when Sapnap ensured that he wasn’t going anywhere if George were to be gay. He wished he could stop the thoughts, but at the same time, he wanted them to continue.</p><p>“I’ll be right back,” George blurted, closing his laptop and sliding it onto Dream’s lap. “I-I forgot I had to call my roommate,” he mumbled as he excused himself, leaving a dumbfounded Dream behind as he stepped out into the hallway. George found a quiet corner, away from the bustle of students heading to classes, and shakily grabbed his phone. His heart pounded as he dialed Sapnap’s number. He pressed the phone to his ear, muttering to himself in hopes that his friend would pick up soon.</p><p>“Hello?” Sap tiredly mumbled into the phone, causing the pit in George’s stomach to grow.</p><p>“Sapnap. Hi,” he started, nearly out of breath from the weight of his thoughts. “I needed to tell you something.”</p><p>“Could it wait? I’m sleeping,”</p><p>“No. I-It can’t.” George breathed out, chewing nervously on his lip as he closed his eyes. Was he really about to say this? The words that had been weighing on his mind since he was a kid, ones that he refused to give into. “Sap, I’m gay.”</p><p>The phone went silent. George thought he was gonna be sick, his eyes filling with tears as he waited for his friend’s reaction. He was opening his mouth to take it all back when Sapnap spoke up again.</p><p>“Okay.”</p><p>George paused, a laugh of relief leaving his lips as he stared at his phone. “Okay?”</p><p>“Yeah. I mean, I told you I didn’t care. I’ve never cared.”</p><p>“You mean that?” George choked out, “I-I’ve been so scared, and I just couldn’t bring myself to say that but- “</p><p>“It’s Dream, isn’t it.” Sapnap said, the smile present in his tone. George grinned, laughing again as he mumbled a quiet <em> yes </em>. “Is he…”</p><p>George froze, eyes looking towards Dream’s room again. “I don’t know. We haven’t really talked about it.”</p><p>“Are you going to ask him?”</p><p>“Oh yeah, I’ll just go in there and casually be like ‘oh yeah, by the way do you like guys? Because I think you’re really hot.’ That sounds like a good plan.” George rolled his eyes, listening to Sapnap’s tired laughter.</p><p>“It couldn’t hurt! Just be open and up front about it. And tell him he still has to pass the best friend test before anything can happen.” Sap explained. The two said their goodbyes, Sapnap going off to sleep again and George making his way back to Dream’s room, a grin plastered on his face. When he opened the door again, he made eye contact with Dream who was just glancing up from George’s laptop, where he had been typing out some code.</p><p>“Hi,” Dream smiled, “I fixed your code.”</p><p> </p><hr/><p>The door clicked behind George as he quietly closed it, hoping that Nick would still be out at his classes. He watched as Dream looked around his room, humming to himself with a smile. After they finished up with George’s project, the two agreed to go out for lunch and coffee, or for Dream, Red Bull. The two stopped by on the way to drop George’s laptop off, and for him to grab his wallet, but it never was as simple as that.</p><p>“Hello,” Sapnap said slyly as he came out of the bathroom next to them, making Dream jump slightly. George frowned, shooting Sap a look that said ‘<em> say anything bad and I will not hesitate to light your bed on fire with you in it’ </em></p><p>“Hi, you must be Sapnap,” Dream said, smiling toward him, his eyes drifting to George quickly as a sign of nerves. George laughed slightly, nodding along.</p><p>“Yup, this is Sapnap. Sap, this is Dream,” he mumbled, “Now, we were just leaving, all I needed was my wallet.”</p><p>“No, no, no,” Sap tutted, ushering both of them toward George’s bed as he took his seat on his own. “I want to know more about this mysterious Dream.”</p><p>George groaned internally, frowning across at his friend, hoping and praying he wasn’t going to say anything to scare Dream away.</p><p>“What do you want to know?” he asked, making George’s eyes widen. He was actually interested in answering Sapnap’s questions?</p><p>“Major?”</p><p>“English.”</p><p>“Siblings?”</p><p>“Two sisters and a brother.”</p><p>The rapid back and forth confused George as he leaned back slightly, just silently watching this happen, his mouth agape. He knew what Sapnap was doing.</p><p>“Single?” Sap asked, a small glance towards George making his entire face heat up.</p><p>“Yup.”</p><p>“Sexuality?”</p><p>“Bi.” Dream answered casually, ready for the next question that never came. Sapnap’s eyes turned to George with a grin and a look that just dripped ‘<em> I told you so’ </em> George’s entire body felt like it was going to melt. So, Dream was bi. He felt a swell in his heart for a moment before he cleared his throat.</p><p>“Any more questions? Or can we leave?” George pushed, locking eyes with Sapnap in a silent beg. He shrugged, just smiling at the pair.</p><p>“Not that I can think of. You’ll have to come over for a proper check up by me sometime, when you two don’t have somewhere to be.”</p><p>“Of course,” Dream hums, sending Sapnap a small knowing smile before getting up, leaving George to sit there, still a bit in shock. It took him a beat to catch up, but then George was leading Dream away, his face still flushed and his heart doing flips in his aching chest. As the door closed behind them, Dream let out a small laugh, smiling to himself.</p><p>“What?” George asked, the smile spreading to his face as well.</p><p>“Nothing,” he said, “I like Sapnap.”</p><p>George grinned, glancing back at his door slightly. “I’m glad. He’s really cool. When he’s not throwing his dirty underwear at your head.”</p><p>Dream laughed, “I’m sure. I’ll have to come over again sometime soon, get to know him a bit more.”</p><p> </p><hr/><p>George slid into the booth, cringing at the soft squeak from the vinyl material against his jeans. Across from him, Dream took his spot, smiling as he grabbed the menu off the table to scan over it. They had picked a small local diner that neither of them had been to, just to try a new place out.</p><p>“This place is cute,” George said softly, being careful not to disturb any of the other diners. The tables looked almost handcrafted, the edges of them carefully filed into beautiful scrollwork, and there were soft fairy lights lining the ceiling rather than harsh fluorescent ones like restaurants normally had. It felt cozy. Safe, almost.</p><p>“Yeah, I really like it,” Dream hums, looking up from his menu with a soft smile, one that made George nearly melt in his seat. He grabbed the menu, using it to bury his reddening face in, hoping he hadn’t noticed the change. He carefully scanned the menu, trying to decide what sounded good. He didn’t want to get anything too heavy and risk seeming like a pig in front of Dream, but he was also extremely hungry.</p><p>George sighed to himself as he furrowed his brows, deciding to just follow Dream’s lead and order something similar to his.</p><p>When the waitress came over, a young girl probably about their age, George peered out from over the menu.</p><p>“Hi, my name is Niki,” she spoke softly, and with an accent George couldn’t quite put his finger on. “I’ll be your waitress today, anything you need I can help with.”</p><p>Dream smiled politely at her, “Hi, could I get a water please?” he asked quietly, glancing towards George expectantly.</p><p>“Oh,” he flushed, “I’ll just have a water as well. Thank you.”</p><p>Niki nodded, smiling back at the pair, “I’ll be right back with your drinks to get your food order in.”</p><p>Dream turned back to George, smiling as he set the menu down on the table. “Do you know what you’re going to get?” George flushed, shaking his head slightly, forcing himself back in his menu.</p><p>“Do you want some help?” Dream asks, leaning over the table to tug George’s menu down a tad, pointing to a few things on the page in front of him that George just couldn’t focus on. The closeness was intoxicating, their faces so close together that he could smell the faint musk of Dream’s cologne. He glanced up at Dream with a sheepish smile as he cleared his throat, just trying to ignore every nerve in his body that lit up.</p><p>“What are you getting?” he asked, making eye contact with Dream who smiled back at him softly.</p><p>“Probably this burger,” he pointed at a picture in the bottom right corner. George nodded, smiling as he closed the menu.</p><p>“That looks good, I’ll get the burger too.”</p><p>“<em> Borgor </em>” Dream teased, mocking his accent with a smile. George rolled his eyes, propping his elbows on the table to lean in closer to him, ignoring the butterflies that sprouted in his stomach.</p><p>“Shut up, don’t be mean,” he fake pouted, trying to suppress the smile from climbing back onto his lips.</p><p>“I’m not being mean, it’s cute.” Dream hums, the words coming out so casually but setting George’s face ablaze. His mouth drops open to respond but he’s quickly cut off by Niki appearing with their drinks.</p><p>“Oh,” she giggles, “Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt anything.” Niki smiled, sharing a knowing glance between the two of them as she sat down their drinks, grabbing the small notebook from her hip to take their order.</p><p>Dream smiled, laughing along as he settled back in his seat normally, “No problem, you weren’t interrupting. We would both like the double cheeseburger. And I’d like mine with fries,” he ordered, looking expectantly towards George who is still sitting in shock.</p><p>“Uh, I’ll have some chips.” George managed, looking back at Niki with a shy smile.</p><p>“He means fries,” Dream explains, laughing softly. “You and your British terms. You’re going to order the wrong thing one day.”</p><p>“Don’t worry, I knew what he meant,” Niki smiled, “I’m from Germany, but I spent a few years in England as well. And based on your accent, I put two and two together.” George smiled, her enthusiasm rubbing off on him slightly.</p><p>“Germany is lovely, I’ve been a few times on holiday.”</p><p>“It really is,” she sighed, smiling again, “Anyway, I’ll get this into the kitchen, and it should be out shortly.” With that, Niki turned around, walking back into the closed door, which assumingly led to the staff area. George turned his attention back to Dream, a small smile gracing his lips again.</p><p>“So,” he started, “Cute?”</p><p>Dream laughed, taking a sip of his water as he leaned back against the soft back of the booth. “Yes, I think your accent is cute.” George can’t fight the smile that stretches on his face, giggles leaving his mouth.</p><p>“It’s just an accent.”</p><p>“I don’t know, I can’t explain it.” Dream hums, “I just like it.”</p><p>“I like your accent too,” George explained, grabbing his water to take a nervous sip. Clay smiles, leaning forward on his elbows a bit.</p><p>“I don’t have an accent,”</p><p>George laughed, “You do, it’s just an American accent,” he says softly. “It’s nice. Comforting.”</p><p>“Comforting?”</p><p>“Like a nice hug,” George mumbles, smiling against the side of his glass. A small curl fell against his forehead as he leaned forward a bit, tucking his feet under himself. Dream leaned forward, his eyes locked with George as he brushed the curl back into his hair, watching as the red spread across his cheeks. He chuckles, his fingertips dragging through George’s hair to push it back a bit, out of his face.</p><p>“That’s better,” he mumbled, smiling at the other man. George thought he was going to explode.</p><p>“Thank you,” he whispers, the words catching in his throat as he flushed a deeper red. Every inch of his body burned right now, he just hoped Dream couldn’t see it. “Dream,”</p><p>“George,” he mimicked, tucking himself back in his seat normally. George laughed slightly, shaking his head.</p><p>“No, like. I need to tell you something.”</p><p>Dream frowned, his brows furrowing together as he nervously placed his hands in his lap. “Did I do something wrong? If I overstepped- “</p><p>“No, no, no.” George rushed, pressing his lips in a thin line as he thought through how to phrase this properly. “I just… thought you should know. That I’m… gay.”</p><p>Dream’s brows raised in question, a position his face was frozen in for a moment before he laughed, melting back into his seat. George furrowed his brows together, a huff leaving his mouth. Well this isn’t what he expected.</p><p>“What- “</p><p>“I’m sorry for laughing,” Dream apologized, smiling a bit as he leaned forward, “I just feel silly now. It’s stupid.” The grin spread across George’s face to mimic his friend, a laugh leaving his chest.</p><p>“What? Tell me.”</p><p>“Oh, it just…” Dream laughed again, “Okay, so don’t judge me. But I kinda… knew? Or assumed.”</p><p>“Oh, because I exude gay energy,” George teased, taking another drink of water as Dream continued.</p><p>“Yes. No,” he corrected, a small, cute huff falling from his lips. “No, I just thought you were gay because… I thought this was a date.”</p><p>George froze, his mouth falling open as he tried to process everything that just happened. As his mind caught up with the rest of him, he laughed, looking at the shy man across from him who tried to hide his embarrassment behind his glass of water.</p><p>“You thought this was a date?” he finally said, “Dream, I don’t have the nerve to ask you on a date.” George smiles, “I literally just came out <em> to myself </em> this morning. I am not a very forward person.”</p><p>Dream blinks a few times before chuckling, “This morning, huh,” he teases, leaning forward. “Would I have anything to do with that decision?”</p><p>George blushed, rolling his eyes as he crossed his arms over his chest. He defiantly shakes his head, but the smile that fought its way onto his lips said otherwise.</p><p>“Does that mean, that because you don’t have the nerve to ask me on a date, that you thought about asking me on a date?” Dream pressed on, the smile on his face growing as he kept getting closer to George, his elbows propped up on the table to push him closer to the other man. George, again, shook his head, shrinking in on himself to try to keep Clay away from him.</p><p>“Tell me the truth, George,” he continued, teasing more and more as he got closer. An idea popped into George’s brain, a way to get Dream to be quiet and leave him alone, so he surged forward, his hands reaching up to grab the sides of Dream’s face as he pressed their lips together.</p><p>Dream froze, his body lagging behind as he tried to wrap his mind around what was happening. Slowly the feeling of George’s warm fingers pressing into his jaw dragged him back in, all his focus now directed at the feeling of their lips together. It was soft and sweet, but also charged with the tension that had been growing between them for the past day.</p><p>George slipped his hand up into Dream’s hair, burying his fingers in the wavy length blonde hair using his new grip to tug the man closer. Their lips parted, just long enough for George to let out a soft laugh, and then they were connected again. Dream’s hands, which were much larger than George’s, cupped the other’s cheek, softly cradling his face as he forced them apart as he sensed a new presence next to them.</p><p>“I’ve got your food,” Niki giggled, setting the plates down on the table in front of them. “You’re cute together, sorry for interrupting.” Dream laughed, sheepishly sitting back in his seat, smiling across at George as he thanked her softly.</p><p>“Thanks,” George mumbled, blush taking over his face as he hid behind his glass of water again. “Sorry,”</p><p>“It’s nothing really, I’d rather see that than the kids who come in here and act like jerks.” Niki explains with a laugh, saying a quick goodbye before disappearing off to continue her shift.</p><p>“Well that was…” George started, his words trailing off into nothingness as Dream completed his thought.</p><p>“Perfect.”</p><p> </p><hr/><p>“Dream,” George whines, dragging his feet as he follows behind the taller man. The sun filtered through the towering trees, shining against George’s face in a way that left a bit of red in its wake. He watched as his boyfriend walked in front of him, his long enthusiastic legs pulling him ahead by a good few feet.</p><p>“Come on, we’re almost there,” Dream called out, a smile lacing his words despite George not being able to see it. He wasn’t exactly sure how he let Dream convince him that a hike would be a fun weekend activity for them to do, but now here he was, his legs aching as he followed the taller man up a woodland trail that somehow continued uphill the entire time.</p><p>“Okay, to be fair, you’ve been saying ‘almost there’ for about five minutes. And my backpack is very heavy.” George reasoned as he watched Dream turn back to face him, a fake pout on his lips. He laughed, reaching out to take Dream’s hand, dragging himself closer til he was at his side. Dream leaned down to press a sweet kiss to the top of George’s head, his nose buried in the fruit scented curls. He gestured out, pointing at the view before them; a railing that kept hikers from tumbling down the hill they had just conquered, the wispy cloud that gathered around the high sun, and an assortment of wild flowers that had grown around the wooden railing with vines creeping up towards the sky.</p><p>George let out a soft breath, turning towards Dream with a smile as he whispered, “It’s beautiful.”</p><p>“Was it worth it?” Dream muttered as he wrapped his arm around George’s waist, pressing their hips together as he held his boyfriend close. He nodded in response; words unable to capture the feelings he wanted to say. Dream let go of him for a moment, just long enough to put his bag down on the ground, pulling a big blue quilt from his backpack and spreading it on the grass. George grinned as he watched Dream sit down, holding his hands up and gesturing for him to join him.</p><p>He laughed, shrugging his backpack off next to Dream’s, settling on the soft blanket between his boyfriend’s legs. George giggled as he felt a pair of big arms wrapping around his stomach to tug him back to rest against Dream’s chest, huge smiles on both of their faces.</p><p>“Hi,” Dream said softly as he looked down at George, his hands grabbing for his smaller ones to intertwine their fingers.</p><p>“Hi,” he mimicked, leaning up to press a soft kiss against his boyfriend’s lips. As the two of them fell into a comfortable silence, just breathing in the fresh air -much fresher than the campus atmosphere- George felt his mind slipping back to when they first met. The way the sun shimmered similarly in his lover’s eyes, the coyness in their voices as they tried to navigate their new relationship. Now, a month had passed, and it was truly one of the best months of his life.</p><p>Dream pressed another soft kiss to George’s forehead, smiling against the skin as he mumbled, “Hey, remember when I was talking about Plato the day we met?”</p><p>“Yes,” George laughed, peering up to his boyfriend, resting his head against his chest. “Nerd.”</p><p>“You are literally a comp sci major. You have no room to speak, computer boy.” Dream defended, “Anyway, do you remember that quote.”</p><p>“Not exactly,”</p><p>“According to Greek mythology, humans were originally created with 4 arms, 4 legs, and a head with 2 faces. Fearing their power, Zeus split them into two separate parts, condemning them to spend their lives in search of their other halves.” Dream recited, his words dancing through George’s head like a faint memory. He smiled, brushing his thumb against his boyfriend’s hand as he looked up at him.</p><p>“I remember.”</p><p>“I don’t believe I ever told you why that quote came to mind that day,”</p><p>George laughed, shifting around until he had turned around to face Dream with a stupidly large grin. “I thought you were reading it.”</p><p>“I was reading Plato. I wasn’t reading that quote, George.”</p><p>“So, you just…”</p><p>“I think even then, I knew we were supposed to end up together.” Dream started, his tone hushed and full of affection that melted George’s heart. “I know we haven’t been together long, but I think it’s safe to say at this point that I found my other half.” George grinned, tugging Dream closer as he kissed him, their lips perfectly fitting together like the two final pieces of a puzzle they were forced to complete. He melted into his boyfriend’s arms as he buried his hands in the hair on the back of Dream’s head, the sparks from their connection lighting his heart ablaze.</p><p>When they finally pulled apart, the clouds covered the sun, shading the two from the worries of the world around them. George brushed Dream’s hair back, out of his eyes as he whispered,</p><p>“I think I did too.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>feedback and comments appreciated :D</p><p>+ my beta has continued down the path of madness due to my writing, please send some love to them in the comments</p></blockquote></div></div>
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